Google Assistant Gaining Support for Multiple Requests and Continued Conversations, Will Be Able to Make Phone Calls for You in the Future

[Abazigal]

With the way Apple has fallen behind here, you'd think implementing a useful AI assistant is impossible. Clearly, it isn't. Apple should be embarrassed. Postponing and delaying products and features seems to be the new norm. For these reasons, I might be looking at an android option to replace my iPhone. What a joke.

Apple is about making technology more personal for the end user.

Nothing about what google has announced sounds in the least bit personal, much less like it would have been approved by Apple ever.

It feels creepy even. Having AI simulate a person’s voice? Maybe it’s not a bad thing that Apple doesn’t go down that route.

 

[oldmacs]

Siri has barely advanced since 2011....
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Apple is about making technology more personal for the end user.

Nothing about what google has announced sounds in the least bit personal, much less like it would have been approved by Apple ever.

It feels creepy even. Having AI simulate a person’s voice? Maybe it’s not a bad thing that Apple doesn’t go down that route.

I thought Apple was about making things that work and Siri barely works. Google Assistant is a million times ahead.

 

[Altis]

I am surprised to hear people would seriously consider switching platforms due to Google's assistant potentially being better than Siri. Personally, voice assistants are a current fad that will fade over time. I see people eventually wanting less and less interaction with technology and automation becoming much more useful. I am sure Google has some advantages here also, but certainly no reason to switch platforms. Once Apple isn't the best overall option when it comes to performance, security, privacy, apps, ecosystem, and support, I'll consider switching. Voice assistants? Come on.

Having a device be able to see a full task through to completion for you is automation.

Apple already isn't the necessarily the best in all those categories, anyways.

 

[fairuz]

Siri has barely advanced since 2011....
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I thought Apple was about making things that work and Siri barely works. Google Assistant is a million times ahead.

Siri works fine. It's not nearly as impressive, but it works for what it's meant for, and it can do everything you really need. Also, it works with more languages, doesn't it?

You know what doesn't work? Pretty much everything else in iOS 11.

 

[Altis]

It feels creepy even. Having AI simulate a person’s voice? Maybe it’s not a bad thing that Apple doesn’t go down that route.

Apple already does try to "simulate a person's voice" (in various accents, even)... just because they don't do it as well...

And they make products like HomePod that are supposed to be operated by voice activation. Even in their own ad, they show the HomePod like it's the unhappy woman's only friend in life.

 

[fairuz]

Also, the bit about teaching kids to say please and thank you through a virtual assistant is super creepy to me. It's weird to insist on politeness to the AI.

Yes, definitely stood out to me as creepy.

Heh. Politeness towards computers is something I've only seen in older people. Younger people abuse the heck out of their tech.

 

[oldmacs]

Siri works fine. It's not nearly as impressive, but it works for what it's meant for, and it can do everything you really need. Also, it works with more languages, doesn't it?

You know what doesn't work? Pretty much everything else in iOS 11.

Siri doesn't work fine. Doesn't understand requests half the time and its faster to just do it myself. It doesn't do half the stuff I want it to.

I will agree with the iOS 11 part though.

 

[avanpelt]

On one hand, the Google Duplex stuff is incredibly cool. On the other hand, it makes me sad to think that products like Google Duplex will allow actual human interaction to take place less and less. Now, the robot is doing the calling, but I'm sure the next step will be for Google to pitch robots to businesses so that they can answer the phone, too. It may take some years to get there, but I feel sure that's coming.

All that being said, Duplex truly makes Google Assistant into a bonafide assistant/personal secretary. You can offload all of the mundane appointment calls you don't want to make to Google Assistant -- which could be quite handy for a lot of people.

Apple can throw the "AI" buzzword around all it wants, but Google seems to really understand AI and, more importantly, how to put the technology to work in a practical way for a lot of people. We can almost certainly rest assured that anything Apple is going to show relative to Siri at WWDC is going to pale in comparison to what Google showed today.

 

[npmacuser5]

This is the perfect direction:

Work together not at each others throats. Sweet,

 

[avanpelt]

Siri works fine. It's not nearly as impressive, but it works for what it's meant for, and it can do everything you really need. Also, it works with more languages, doesn't it?

You know what doesn't work? Pretty much everything else in iOS 11.

Siri worked fine for the time that it was acquired by Apple and first shown off in the iPhone 4S (October 2011). However, nearly seven years has passed since then. Like the Mac Pro and the Mac Mini, Apple released something and let it sit for years with very little (if any) meaningful updates. In the meantime, the competition has been working hard. I don't think the Siri of 2018 is what that technology was "meant for".

I think Apple will announce some broad, sweeping changes to Siri in the coming months. They know they're behind. Their recent hire of the Google AI chief indicates as much. The question is -- will what they announce in the coming months be enough to even begin to keep pace with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa? When you use one of the other assistants (I've been using Google Assistant on two Google Home Mini's and on my iPhone for the past three weeks or so), you quickly realize just how far behind Apple is compared to Google and Amazon.

 

[rafark]

It feels creepy even. Having AI simulate a person’s voice? Maybe it’s not a bad thing that Apple doesn’t go down that route.

What are you talking about? What is Siri then?

 

[Abazigal]

What are you talking about? What is Siri then?

When Siri responds, there is no doubt that I am talking to a computer program.

What google is doing here is making the AI voice virtually indistinguishable from a real human being. I can’t see this ending well.

I guess this is where Apple and google diverge. Apple is about the intersection between arts and tech. Google is simply about pure technological advancement. Consequences be darned.

And I am not saying this simply because this is an area Apple likely will (and can) never do. Both for technical and ethical reasons.

 

[Altis]

When Siri responds, there is no doubt that I am talking to a computer program.

What google is doing here is making the AI voice virtually indistinguishable from a real human being. I can’t see this ending well.

I guess this is where Apple and google diverge. Apple is about the intersection between arts and tech. Google is simply about pure technological advancement. Consequences be darned.

And I am not saying this simply because this is an area Apple likely will (and can) never do. Both for technical and ethical reasons.

Based on what?

They already gave Siri, who at the time of release was praised for having such a natural tone, multiple accents.

Apple could and would, just as they could and would improve Siri functionality, or update the Mac Mini, if they could be bothered to.

 

[jeremiah256]

I am surprised to hear people would seriously consider switching platforms due to Google's assistant potentially being better than Siri. Personally, voice assistants are a current fad that will fade over time. I see people eventually wanting less and less interaction with technology and automation becoming much more useful. I am sure Google has some advantages here also, but certainly no reason to switch platforms. Once Apple isn't the best overall option when it comes to performance, security, privacy, apps, ecosystem, and support, I'll consider switching. Voice assistants? Come on.

I'm not sure it's about immediately switching, but it is a medium term issue Apple may have to deal with.

Yesterday, Microsoft demo'd how Cortana and Alexa work together. From one device they ordered groceries, a ride to dinner, checked their schedule, and set up a meeting via email. Nothing they did was out of the ordinary day of the average person. The key activity here was, ordered groceries from Amazon.

Alexa and Cortana is already in many homes of even Apple users. Amazon is practically giving away Echoes and Fire Tablets (both can be had for less than $50). Google does not seem opposed to their Assistant talking to other bots. If they join Amazon and Microsoft, but Apple remains separate due to their privacy stance, then is it unreasonable to think that people would switch to a platform that allows them to have groceries delivered to their home via their assistant?

 

[bodonnell202]

Hackers steal people's money, identity, etc and run DDoS attacks through victims' phones, always Android. It'll be a lot worse if they can get ahold of home control devices. Best case scenario, they only use it for DDoS. Russian hackers have been breaking into all kinds of US infrastructure lately, and we don't need to make more targets for them.

I wouldn't call iOS very reliable these days (though macOS is great), and I should've clarified. I meant their business. Google creates and destroys projects left and right. There's too much vaporware. The user experience is also very inconsistent across their products, save for the core few they've perfected like YouTube and Gmail.

Meh, I fail to see how anyone is going to steal money or my identity through my phone. I don't really keep anything that important on there.

Your comment about Google software is fair though. How many Google messaging services have came and gone? Point taken...

 

[jeremiah256]

it's absolutely asinine that Google Assistant is capable of turning an iPhone's flashlight on or off via voice command while Siri simply replies, "Sorry, but I'm not able to do that.

Just tried this and...wow. No words. Sometimes when you learn something new everyday, it's not what you want to hear.

Apple is about making technology more personal for the end user.

I've used iPhones from the beginning, and while I have no immediate reasons or plans to jump ship, the only time I would have called my iPhones 'personal' was when I was into jailbreaking. I've always envied how personal and individual Android owners can make their phones. Not enough to switch, but still.

 

[fairuz]

When Siri responds, there is no doubt that I am talking to a computer program.

What google is doing here is making the AI voice virtually indistinguishable from a real human being. I can’t see this ending well.

I guess this is where Apple and google diverge. Apple is about the intersection between arts and tech. Google is simply about pure technological advancement. Consequences be darned.

And I am not saying this simply because this is an area Apple likely will (and can) never do. Both for technical and ethical reasons.

The voice is hard to tell apart, but anyone can tell an AI is an AI based on its responses after talking to it for less than a minute. That won't change for a long time.

 

[DNichter]

I'm not sure it's about immediately switching, but it is a medium term issue Apple may have to deal with.

Yesterday, Microsoft demo'd how Cortana and Alexa work together. From one device they ordered groceries, a ride to dinner, checked their schedule, and set up a meeting via email. Nothing they did was out of the ordinary day of the average person. The key activity here was, ordered groceries from Amazon.

Alexa and Cortana is already in many homes of even Apple users. Amazon is practically giving away Echoes and Fire Tablets (both can be had for less than $50). Google does not seem opposed to their Assistant talking to other bots. If they join Amazon and Microsoft, but Apple remains separate due to their privacy stance, then is it unreasonable to think that people would switch to a platform that allows them to have groceries delivered to their home via their assistant?

Okay so Apple implements this in a year or two, right? I mean I’m not necessarily itching for any of that, but maybe it’s just me. It’ll come, will likely be implemented well, and won’t be infringing on my privacy. I guess I somewhat find this next step to be a logical one, just that Apple is behind. I’m okay with them taking a bit more time on this stuff, as I’d rather it be controlled a bit tighter. Lastly, I don’t need to switch to Android to do any of this.
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Having a device be able to see a full task through to completion for you is automation.

Apple already isn't the necessarily the best in all those categories, anyways.

I’m not sure of your point. And yes, I know they aren’t necessarily the best in all those categories. I said they are the best overall option in those categories.

 

[Williesleg]

Hey Timmy Cook, you keep making those watch bands. Need more SKU's. Now THAT's innovation!

 

[jeremiah256]

Okay so Apple implements this in a year or two, right? I mean I’m not necessarily itching for any of that, but maybe it’s just me. It’ll come, will likely be implemented well, and won’t be infringing on my privacy. I guess I somewhat find this next step to be a logical one, just that Apple is behind. I’m okay with them taking a bit more time on this stuff, as I’d rather it be controlled a bit tighter. Lastly, I don’t need to switch to Android to do any of this.

Again, I don't think Apple's privacy policy will allow Siri to play nice with other assistants. Amazon and Walmart have legitimate requirements for data to provide adequate customer service levels.

In addition to the privacy issue, is Apple's policy on purchases through the iPhone. Currently, to shop on Amazon, it's through the browser. This is because Apple wants up to 30% of any sale if via an app. Neither the current iOS Alexa app nor the Amazon app can be used to purchase products as Amazon wants to avoid this fee.

 

[Abazigal]

The voice is hard to tell apart, but anyone can tell an AI is an AI based on its responses after talking to it for less than a minute. That won't change for a long time.

I actually have high hopes for google in this area. That’s what makes it so awesome, and so very creepy.

 

[JediZenMaster]

Hopefully Apple keeps the garden wall closed and won’t compromise it’s stance on privacy to make a few eggheads happy.

 

[Defthand]

Apple strategically spends its money in areas that count.... hardware and marketing.

Mind you, people appreciate the good looks of an iPhone but I doubt the majority of them upgrade to a new one because of hardware improvements. They want the latest amusement that the newer phone enables. One could say that Google Assistant’s abilities are amusements. Paired with a good-looking phone, this could eventually attract bored iPhone users.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Is it just me or does anyone else say Please and Thank You to Siri?

I’d get banned if I posted what I say to Siri with her frequent mess ups.

 

[Defthand]

Now, the robot is doing the calling, but I'm sure the next step will be for Google to pitch robots to businesses so that they can answer the phone, too.

When you think about it, businesses have been doing that for some while. A company’s phone receptionist has been replaced with a recorded assistant. When you chat with online reps you’re usually interacting with a bot. None of which are as efficient as a competent human but are superior to the unskilled/uninformed ones.